On the morning of Friday, March, 31st, I hopped a train to McCormick Place to attend the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) armed with my camera and a printout schedule for MeTV’s National horror host, Svengoolie. In the past, I’ve covered this event, the cosplay, and celebrity guests but this year it was exclusively about Sven as his team graciously brought me in as a volunteer member of the crew. These next two blogs are a diary of that experience.
Who’d of thought zombies terrorizing an Illinois city’s streets would inspire warm, cuddly feelings of life getting back to normal? That’s what happened last Saturday when I visited “Nightmare on Chicago Street’ – the quintessential Halloween event that many feared would never happen again. Fortunately, a Global Pandemic proved no match for the Undead as I entered the Safe Zone of Elgin, Illinois smiling from ear to ear.
Happy Groundhog Day! And just like the Bill Murray comedy, this post is going to feel like a repeat of my last one. So here’s the final group of cosplay shots from the 2021 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo…
The Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) never disappoints when it comes to cosplay and 2021 was no exception. With the event pushed til December, one thing that set it apart was more holiday-themed costumes. Despite the limited number of tickets sold, we were couldn’t walk more than a couple feet before stopping to take a photo of one of these creative artists…and, yes, these people are absolutely artists!
(Continued) As soon as Svengoolie completed his interview with the cast of The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre (2021) the room quickly filled up with contestants and onlookers for Flashback Weekend’s annual costume contest. It was soon evident that a lot of creative fans used their time in last year’s lockdown to make costumes as this was the largest number of contestants I’d ever seen. The line of hopefuls wrapped around the room and beyond – with no end in sight. This would be “Mayor” Don Johnston‘s turn to shine as he had the dubious task of directing everyone on and off the stage – something a bit more challenging when dealing with kids or those visually impaired by their own costumes.
Although the Covid-19 virus had already begun hitting the news – with many of us probably already walking around with it – we could never have guessed the 2020 C2E2 (Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo) would be our last major gathering before a social Apocalypse. Back then, Corona was just a side story and the only masks seen here were the kinds used to conceal one’s secret identity. If I’d known then what I know now I’d have done all three days of this event rather than just Sunday. But no-o-o-o-o. I had to give in to work demands while saving my vacation days for a Spring break road trip that would never happen. Sadly, “2020” would be an insane year rather than hindsight but it is what it is. So let’s look back on that carefree day that now seems like a lifetime ago.
Terror from Beyond the Dave 